Joining Rumph on the first-team was Chris James, while Curtis Hamilton earned second-team honors.
Nominees for the team must have a cumulative 3.0 grade-point average and be sophomores both academically and athletically as well as starters or key reserves.
Rumph — a 6-foot-1, 195-pound Bradenton, Fla., resident — was also a first-team all-academic team selection a year ago. He ranks 12th in the conference with 7.9 stops per contest after leading the Hilltoppers with 87 tackles, and he also broke up four passes and recorded one interception. Rumph led WKU in tackles on four occasions, recording two games with double-digit stops including a career-high 16 stops in a win over No. 21 Western Illinois, while he also paced the Hilltoppers in tackles in victories over Chattanooga and No. 13 Southern Illinois. His efforts helped WKU lead the conference in both passing and pass efficiency defense as it ranks in the top 25 nationally in both categories.
James topped WKU in scoring for the second straight year after making 13 field goals — which ranks seventh on the school’s season record list — and hitting 27 straight extra points for a total of 66 points. In addition to leading the conference with 1.57 field goals per game and a 91.7 conversion rate in league-only contests, James stands 12th in the country with 1.18 field goals per game. The 6-foot, 190-pound native of Fayetteville, Ga., made multiple field goals in four contests, including against nationally ranked Illinois State, Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa while ending conference action by hitting eight straight field goals. His 54-yard field goal at Missouri State — the second longest in WKU history — provided the final margin of victory against the Bears.
A 6-foot, 195-pound wide receiver, Hamilton ranks sixth in the country with 93.4 yards per game receiving, and is 19th with 5.78 catches per contest — both figures lead the Gateway. He also is seventh in the league in scoring and eighth in all-purpose yards per game, as his 10 touchdown catches are the second-highest total in school history and four more than any other wideout in the conference has recorded. For the year, the West Paducah, Ky., native posted totals of 52 receptions and 841 yards despite missing two-and-a-half games due to injury, including 100-yard efforts against nationally-ranked opponents Eastern Kentucky, Western Illinois and Illinois State.
The three helped the Toppers to a 6-5 finish, the school’s 11th consecutive winning season.
